Nearly all students will receive their first loan installment throughout September, and for those first time go-ers’, they get a little bit spend-happy. After all, for the majority they have been let loose with the largest sum of money that they have ever been accustomed to and so as a result they all get a little bit frivolous with the spends! (Great for local businesses, even if it’s not so great for their bank accounts!)
And remember, students are finding their bearings around this time, with moving to a new city and all. So anything you can do to make your salon stand out and seem the most appealing, the better it is for you in gaining those students as clients for the foreseeable duration of their courses!
Your marketing doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg either. Students are on a budget, and therefore that means you can be too. They’re not interested in flashy marketing and social media adverts, as after all, most of these students may never have heard of your salon and so won’t be a follower of your social networking platforms at this moment. To attract this particular market, a simple, good-sized appealing banner in your salon window, decals up and around the University and even leaflet flyer-ing at Freshers’ fair would be ample!
At the time of Freshers’, most local businesses, whether it be retail, food, bars or beauty, all tend to offer a type of discount. Shopping centres have one off ‘lock-ins’ for students and market this around Universities and student halls to gain as much custom as they can. If you haven’t participated in anything such as this before then maybe as a salon this is something that you can think about?
I’m guessing that if you are based in a student environment you already offer a small, perhaps 10% discount to students with a valid photo card. Therefore expand on this and maybe organise a student event, where new Freshers’ can come and sign up to the salon and get a free skin consultation? Or a hair trim on the house? Alternatively, you could just increase the normal discount to say ‘20%’, as some other retailers and salons do for a selected period of time; as the difference between 10% and 20% is surprisingly attractive to clients.
Freshers’ weeks are just a great time period to capitalise on, as at the end of the day, the thousands of new students that arrive are potential new customers for you! Another possible idea, if you do have a bit more of a budget, would be to have a stand at the local University Freshers fair? Team up with the uni and think outside the box to come up with a really unique stand that will capture those students attention to come and have a chat with your technicians! Hope this helps!
Salon Tracker x
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